Tennis: Novak Djokovic endures fierce challenge to his Melbourne Park reign before overhauling Dominic Thiem to clinch eighth Australian Open title
Serbia's Novak Djokovic holds the Norman Brookes Challenge Cup trophy after beating Austria's Dominic Thiem in their men's singles final match on day fourteen of the Australian Open tennis tournament in Melbourne on February 2, 2020.
"Definitely my favourite court, my favourite stadium in the world," Djokovic told the crowd at Rod Laver Arena during the trophy presentation. "You and also two other guys, I think you brought men's tennis to a completely new level. I'm proud and happy I can compete in these times and this period of tennis. I fell a little bit short today, but I hope I can get, soon, revenge."Both finalists spoke about the devastating wildfires that have killed dozens of people and millions of animals around Australia. Djokovic also mentioned the recent deaths of NBA star Kobe Bryant and one of his daughters in a helicopter crash.
Djokovic was down two sets to one. He was visited by a doctor and trainer in the third set and, desperate to hydrate, guzzled bottles of water and energy drink. He lectured the chair umpire about time violations. In the fifth set, another missed forehand by Thiem let Djokovic break to go up 2-1. Djokovic faced a challenge in the next game when Thiem held a pair of breakpoints but couldn't convert. The spectacle would continue for another 30 minutes, approaching four hours, but that was pretty much that.
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